Women's History Month: Audre Lorde
Image Description:
A series of pages of a comic, drawn in a simple style with black lines over a monochrome colour palette of blues. A line drawing, drawn in a more realistic style than the rest of the comic, of a bust of a black woman (Audre Lorde) with an afro and a t-shirt in the bottom right corner. In the top left corner, a quote reads, “Those of us who stand outside the circle of this society’s definition of acceptable women; those of us who have been forged in the crucibles of difference – those of us who are poor, who are lesbians, who are Black, who are older – know that survival is not an academic skill. It is learning how to take our differences and make them strengths. For the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change. And this fact is only threatening to those women who still define the master’s house as their only source of support.” This quote is attributed to Audre Lorde; below that, text reads, "'The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House.' 1984." In the background of the image, the bottom half is divided into a darker blue at an angle.Panel 1: A drawing of the New York skyline. Text reads, "Audre Lorde was born in New York City in 1934 to Caribbean immigrant parents. She grew to love poetry from a young age."Panel 2: A drawing of a building which is a part of Hunter College. Text reads, "She attended Hunter College in 1959."Panel 3: A drawing of Lorde (shown throughout the comic as wearing a collared t-shirt with pants and shoes) at a desk in a library, holding a pencil over a piece of paper with writing on it. Text reads, "While there, she gained a job as a librarian and spent her time writing. She went on to do work at many other schools in the years to come."Panel 4: A drawing of two books, one on top of the other. The one on top is labeled, "Cables to Rage" by Audre Lorde. Text reads, "In 1968, she published her first volume of poetry, "The First Cities". "Cables to Rage" (1970) explored anger at social and political injustice and was her first expression of lesbianism. Her work grew increasingly political as her career continued.Panel 5: A drawing of Lorde, looking thoughtful. Behind her, three white women, one with a straight bob harcut, one with longer straight hair, and one with straight hair in a ponytail, all wearing t-shirts, are engaged in conversation without her. One of them holds a piece of paper and is reading from it. Text reads, "Lorde was an active member in the Civil Rights and feminist movements. Her experience as a black lesbian gave her added perspective."Panel 6: Text reads, "She pushed back against overly simplistic categorization. While her white feminist cohorts divided things into two sides -- man and woman..." On either side of "man and woman" are two simplistic representations of a man and a woman.Panel 7: Text reads: "... Lorde was aware that within those two categories were many more. She argued that feminism could not be separated from the struggles undergone by these groups." To the right of this text is the same simplified representation of a woman as before, but with the identifiers "Race, Age, Disability, Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, Class" surrounding it.Panel 8: Three women with dark skin tones, one with her hair tied back in a curly bun with a t-shirt, one with a straight dark bob haircut with a long-sleeve shirt, and one with an afro and a long-sleeve shirt, have their hands on each others shoulders. Text reads, "Lorde believed that these differences could not be ignored and should be embraced to strengthen the feminist movement as a whole."Panel 9: A drawing of five women with dark skintones, one with dreads, one with her hair straight and pushed to the side, one with her hair tied back in a curly pony-tail, and one with short curly hair, all wearing t-shirts, with Lorde at the forefront speaking at a podium. Text reads, "She fought against racism within white feminism and pushed for the inclusion of women of colour and other minorities in the movement. She said,Panel 10: A quote from Audre Lorde begins on this page, the text reading, "Women of today are still being called upon to stretch across the gap of male ignorance and to educate men as to our existence and our needs." Below this is a drawing of a white woman with her hair tied back in a straight ponytail wearing a t-shirt explaining something to a white man with short hair wearing a business suit who is feigning ignorance.Panel 11: The quote continues, "This is an old and primary tool of all oppressors to keep the oppressed occupied with the master's concerns." Below this is a drawing of the same white woman and man as before. The woman is storming off angrily while the man stands smiling blankly.Panel 12: In the top half of the panel the quote continues, "Now we hear that it is the task of women of colour to educate white women --" Below this is a drawing meant to mirror panel 3's. Lorde is wearily explaining something to the same white woman who was speaking to the man in panel 3. Underneath the quote continues, "in the face of tremendous resistence..." In the bottom half of the panel is a drawing meant to mirror panel 4; Lorde is storming off in frustration while the white woman, along with two other white women, one wearing a dress with short straight hair and one wearing a long-sleeve shirt with pants with long straight hair look on; the first white woman seems to be gossiping about Lorde. Text below continues, "... as to our existence, our differences, our relative roles in our joint survival."Text at the bottom of the page concludes the quote, reading, "This is a diversion of energies and a tragic repetition of racist patriarchal thought."Panel 13: A drawing of multiple examples of Lorde, meant to evoke the passage of time. She's shown writing at a desk, speaking, and looking forward with determination. Text reads, "Lorde kept writing and was active for the rest of her life."Panel 14: A cut off close-up of an open diary with writing on the pages with a pencil next to it sitting on a table. Text to the right reads, "Even after a cancer diagnosis in 1978, she kept journals detailing her struggles until her death in 1992."Outside of the panels at the bottom of the page is a drawing of Lorde standing confidently, smiling with her hands in her pockets. To the left of her, text reads, "Lorde left a mighty legacy behind her. Several organizations and initiatives in her name continue to this day. She spent decades advancing feminist and racial theories, influencing others, and creating spaces for people who couldn't see one for themselves. The world wouldn't be the same without her." Behind the drawing and the text, the background is divided into a darker blue at an angle.Below this is a section with credits on the top half and citations at the bottom. The top half reads, "Comic researched, written and drawn by Stephanie Van Andel. https://slvanandel.com/" and "as a part of RCAD Initative. https://rcadinitiative.org/" The RCAD Initiative logo is present.The bottom half reads, "Citations and Further Reading." The citations are listed;The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (2022, Febuary 14). Audre Lorde, American poet and author. Britannica. Retrieved March 23, 2022 from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Audre-LordeWeekes, P. (2018, Febuary 23). New York State Poet Laureate, Audre Lorde, the Mother of Intersectional Feminism. The Mary Sue. https://www.themarysue.com/audre-lorde-the-mother-of-intersectional-feminism/Lieberman, C. (n.d.). The Essential Audre Lorde. Writing on Glass. https://www.writingonglass.com/audre-lordeLorde, Audre. (1984) The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House. Penguin Classics. https://collectiveliberation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Lorde_The_Masters_Tools.pdfBehind the text, the background is divided into a darker blue at an angle.